Batman: The Dark Knight Returns, Part 1

It's definitely one of the best Batman features I've watched in a while (not a big fan of Christopher Nolan's "Gotham's Jesus"). It's a different Batman, faithful to the character tailored by Frank Miller. This Batman is old, angry and not a bit soft. He knows what he needs to do and he does it.

The animation is dynamic and nicely drawn (not in the anime- influenced style of Flashpoint: Paradox). This is exactly how comic book adaptations should be made.

Sad thing is, best DC adaptations come in direct-to-video format. Recently I tried watching Flash and Arrow, huge letdowns, if you ask me. But "The Dark Knigh Returns" is the real deal. It isn't fake, it has the spirit and the atmosphere.

Now I'm off to my Batcave to watch the second part.

After seeing Batman Year One, I was nervous about this one, but I was pleasantly surprised! The story is faithfully recreated here, with very little censorship of the violence, and most of the (included) dialogue straight from the pages of the comic, albeit with some forgivable changes. The pacing is excellent, and really captures that sense of "awesome" that the graphic novel had. The visual style is "close enough" to Millar's work to give you flashbacks, but of course it lacks the detailed nuances of the comic. And lastly, the music fits everything perfectly.

Some complaints, though. First and foremost, the acting lacks passion. Virtually all the main characters play "middle of the road" emotions well, but any extreme was unconvincing to me. It's almost like there was a "no shouting!" rule for the actors. Nobody gets really angry, or forceful, or upset. Even so, it's nowhere near as disappointing as the acting in Batman Year One.

Also missing is Batman's inner monologue- which I guess can be forgiven since movies are a visual medium, but ultimately we lose some of the comic's best lines because of it. Though they do try to force some of batman's narration into the movie as dialogue, it doesn't work that well at all.

One change I'm not sure about is the PG-13 censorship to the script. They maintain the political dichotomy that existed in the comics, but it's way toned down. They seem to want to avoid alienating people on either side of the political spectrum (perhaps wisely). Some of the humor is still there, but again, it's got kid gloves on.

In the end, though, this is a wonderful execution of a great story. I eagerly look forward to Part 2!!

1. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Hollywood picked this story for a major live action release. Message received.

2. Lots of talk about the best Batman voice. Weller nailed it. Oscar worthy and yes Virginia they do give Oscars for voice actors.

3. Omigawd. Whatta script. Seen this 2-parter three times, each time I find new social commentary in the dialog. After the Joker segment you think to yourself, this can't get any better. And then you get the "schoolboy" segment. And it does.

4. I am running out of adjectives. If you have not seen it already, see it now.

5. Finally a note for the IMDb archive. Hollywood loves to do films about getting old. Hundreds at least. Comedies, dramas, everything in-between. I believe that over the years to come, this gem will be recognized as the greatest film about getting old ever done. They took the iconic characters that an entire generation grew up with and then imagined what things would be like at the end of life's run. Watch it with that in mind and you will see things you did not see first time around.

The Dark Knight Returns, is for me, the best Batman film of the year. The animation is superb, especially when the action kicks off. It sees Bruce Wayne return to crime fighting after a 10 year absence. Unlike his Nolan counterpart however, he was Batman for a damn sight longer than just a year. His return is depicted as an obsession that finally grabs control and pulls him in. He barely even notices it when he shaves off his mustache as it just becomes a natural part of the process. A new threat, called The Mutants, rises in Gotham, and Batman has to sort them out. His age becomes his weakness as he must go up against the leader of The Mutants. he film is littered with cuts to TV shows and newscasts discussing whether or not Batman is a help or a hindrance. Peter Weller does a great job as the voice of Batman, and it's nice to see a Batman with a dark and dangerous sense of humour. As an adaptation it remains fairly close to the source material, but manages to capture the ferocity of the violence without being too graphic. Gotham looked and felt exactly how I remember it when I was growing up. This is great stuff, and is a huge tease for Part 2, where we will see The Joker once again.

An impressively loyal adaptation of one of comics' most important stories, complete with social commentary, nods at dark chapters of the character's history and a glut of wanton brutality. Despite being ripped violently into two pieces, the story still functions very well and reaches a natural climax in time for the credits to roll after a drawn-out 75 minutes. I fear the end result may be a less-dense arching plot line, especially as most of the political commentary was removed from this chapter (presumably as it won't be relevant until the second) but there's still more than enough pulp to go around. While the storyline is doggedly faithful (indeed, most of the dialog is copied verbatim from the source), the artwork is both influenced by and notably distanced from Frank Miller and Lynn Varley's amazing work on the printed page. And, while that does rob the story of some of its character, the result is suitable enough; fresh but also familiar. Peter Weller turns in some decent work as the voice of Bruce Wayne, but I couldn't help but daydream about how Kevin Conroy would have approached the material. Very good, if not perfect.